Toothbrush holder



March 1, 1932. ,w MUNRQ 1,847,253

TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER Filed Sept. 9, 1929 177767770? ,flaraZd M M7770 @TQZW419M0 4.

Patented Mar. 1, 1932 UNITED STATES HAROLD W. MUNRO, OF PROVIDENCE,RHODE ISLAND I TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER Application filed September 9, 1929.Serial No. 391,446.

My invention relates to tooth brush or other article holders,particularly of the type adapted to hang on the wall and having articleholding means, such as a hook, or hooks, projecting outwardssubstantially at right angles therefrom to hold the bristle end of atooth brush or other article, such as a toothpaste tube, shaving brush,etc. therein. 7

I am aware that others have provided 10 tooth brush holders of thisdescription, but

so far as I am aware, no one has'hitherto provided a tooth brush holderwhich maybe readily packed and shipped, as the tooth brush holding meansnormally projects outwards at right angles from the body thereof thuscalling forexpensive and troublesome wrapping and packaging to insuresafe shipping. r

I am also aware that others have provided tooth brush and otherarticleholders stamped out of a single fiat piece of bendable material, but sofar as I know, no one has hitherto provided such a tooth brush or otherarticle holder which may be repeatedly set up in suitable form for usingand knocked down to its fiat form for mailing by the extremely simplemethod of bending it approximately along a line, I

An object of my invention is to provide a tooth brush or article holderconsisting of a strip of flat bendable material of a size capable ofbeing sent fiat in a mailing envelope having a suitable body portion andhaving suitable hanging means thereonand a flat integral tooth brush orarticle holding means in the plane of said body. portion, whereby saidbody portion and integral holding means may be sent through the mailsflat and whereby said holding means may be bent after receipt thereof bythe user substantially at right angles to the plane of the body portionto hold a tooth brush or other article thereon. I am thus enabled toprovide a tooth brush or other article holder capable of being sentthrough the mail inan ordinary envelope and which may be readily bent bythe user to hold a tooth brush or other article after receipt thereof. Ipreferably construct my improved holder of celluloid which not only isvery light and forms a more pleasing appearance than metal, but whichalso may be additionally ornamented in a manner not possible with metal.

A further feature of my invention resides in providing a space on aportion of the holder whereby directions may be given to the user tosuitably bend the article after receipt thereof to form the actualholder, capable of holding the desired article. Particularly wherecelluloid is employed, this may be readily heated and bent a number oftimes without danger of breaking or cracking, preferably by inserting itin hot water or steam prior to bending. If desired for display purposesprior to selling or mailing, the tooth brush holding means may be bentaway from the plane of the body portion for display purposes and thenbent back to the plane of the body portion for mailing.

A further object of my invention relates to the provision of an articleholder having a body portion of a shape in simulation of an ornamentedobject or other desired form.

A further object of my invention is to provide a hook constructed of amaterial hav- 75 ing the characteristics of celluloid wherein the prongsthereof may be bent towards or away from each other preferably on theapplication of heat thereto, thus changing the size of the opening toaccommodate a larger 80 or smaller tooth brush or other toilet articlesuch as the cap of a tube of tooth paste, the handle of a shaving brushetc.

These and such other objects of my invention as may hereinafter appearwill be best understood from a description of the accompanying drawingswhich illustrate embodiments of a tooth brush holder embodying theprinciples of my invention.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevat1on of my improved holder in acondition to be shipped through the mail.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing how my improved holder may beshipped 1n an ordinary envelope.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of my improved holder in use hanging on asuitable nail on the wall and with the holding means bent substantiallyat right angles to the plane of the body portion to hold a tooth brushtherein. 7

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the bottom of an article holderconstructed'in accordance with the principles of my invention, having aholding means adapted to hold a plurality of articles such as the toothbrush and tooth paste tube shown adjacent thereto.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference indicate likeparts throughout, 10 generally indicates a tooth brush holder constructed in accordance with the teachin s of my invention. I preferablytake a sub, stantially flat sheet of bendable material and cut it intoblanks of a size capable of being sent in a mailing envelope or otherflatpackage, said blanks having a body portion 12, which is preferablyout into a shape in simulation of an ornamented object of the desiredform, such as the duck shown, and which has a surface such as the frontsurface 14 thereof, painted or otherwise additionally decorated infurther simulation of saidobject as at 16. My invention is preferablyconstructed out of celluloid or similar condensation or nitratedproduct, which not only may be readily bent in use as explained, butwhich has an adhe sive surface to which the pigment 16 or otherornamentation employed may readily stick. Said body portion 12 isprovided with suitable hanging means which preferably consists as in thebody portion shown of the hole 18 for hanging said body portion on asuitable nail 20 (Fig. 5) or other device or for receiving a screwtherein. I provide said body portion 12 with the flat integral toothbrush holding means 22 projecting therefrom in the plane of said bodyportion. While any other suitable type of tooth brush or other articleholding means may be employed, I preferably employ the hook 22 or aplurality of hooks 22 (as shown in Fig. 6) projecting from the lowerportion thereof. In Fig. 6 I have shown a holding means comprising aplurality of hooks 22 formed on the integral portions of the holderadapted to be bent in use, adapted to hold, for instance, the toothbrush 24 and a tooth paste tube 23 of a type having a cap 25 having anenlarged head 27.

As stated, I also preferably provide direc tion insignia on said toothbrush holder 12 to instruct the user how to bend the tooth brush holdingmeans to a plane relatively, preferably at right angles, to the bodyportion 12, so that the tooth brush holding hook 22 may readily holdsaid tooth brush 24 in use as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 5. In mypreferred embodiment said direction insigniaincludes the printed matter26 consisting of the desired directions to the user and the printedand/0r scored line 28 substantially at the points of jointure of thetooth brush holding means 22 to said body portion 12 to indicate to theuser substantially the line to bend the tooth brush holding means 22.

The improved tooth brush holder is adapted to be fabricated and soldfiat as shown in Figs. 1-4. Fig. 4 diagrammatically illustrates how atooth brush holder may be sent through the mails in an ordinary envelope30. Ifdesired, however, prior to sending through the mail, the hook maybe bent substantially at right angles therefrom for selling purposes andthen rebent to a flat position if desired for shipping purposes. Whenthe ultimate user duly receives the tooth brush holder and desires toactually use it, he suit.- ably heats the line of jointure of said toothbrush holding means 22 to the body portion 12, preferably by insertingsaid tooth brush holding means 22 in hot water or steam and then bendingthe tooth brush holding means to a plane substantially at right anglesto the plane of the body portion 12 along the indicating line 28 inaccordance with the printed instructions 26. The holder may be hung onthe wall by inserting the nail 20 through the hole 18, and the toothbrush 24 hung on the holder when desired by inserting the bristle endthereof within the hook 22. I preferably employ as the tooth brush hold.ingmeans the hook 22 having the prongs 21 which on the application ofheat thereto preferably through the medium of hot water or steam mayreadily be bent away from or towards each other to accommodate a largeror smaller tooth brush or to change the tooth brush holder into anothertype of article holder such as a holder for holding a tooth paste tube,a shaving brush, etc. It is obvious that if desired any number of hooksor other article holding means may be attached to a single body portionas shown in Fig. 6. It is apparent that I have provided a novel type oftooth brush holder which may be readily sold or given away foradvertising purposes and which ma} be readily packed or shipped flatthrough the mail or otherwise and bent by the user to the desiredconfiguration with the other advantages portrayed above.

It is understood that my invention is not limited to the specificembodiments shown and that various deviations may be made therefromwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is As a new article of manufacture, a thin, flat sheet ofbendable material having the characteristics of celluloid capable ofbeing shipped flat having a body portion and an integral article holdingportion having prongs projecting from said body portion in the plane ofsaid body portion, whereby said sheet may be shipped flat and owing tothe characteristics of the material the user on the application ofmoderate heat substantially at the line of jointure between said bodyportion and said holding portion may bend said portions relatively toeach other and may bend said prongs relatively to each other toaccommodate difierent sized articles.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature.

HAROLD W. MUN RO.

